Crimping tool with full stroke compelling mechanism



March 31, 1964 l G. N. wlLLls 3,126,750

CRIMPING TOOL WITH FULL STROKE COMPELLING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 56I/o. I.

Filed OCL. 3, 1960 1N VEN TOR. Gea/v7' M WLL/S rraeA/Eys.

G. N. WILLIS March 31, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 3, 1960 w 2 :0dm u M f W M m mM 2 w T M M f e 00 6 W. GJM/f FI w ---f w /N T w w w w yw w m m w ya w y M i i www d WIr/ o fw w 4 2 e M M w YO J m Y my mrraeA/Eys.

United States Patent O 3,126,750 CRIMPING TOL WITH FULL STROKECOMPELLING MECHANISM Grant N. Willis, Bristol, Conn., assignor to CannonElectric Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California FiledGet. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 60,070 6 Claims. (Cl. 74-17.5)

The present invention relates to a tool` having a plurality ofconverging jaws, and it relates particularly to a crimping tool adaptedto crimp a contact terminal for an electrical connector about the end ofa conductor wire.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a tool having aplurality of opposed jaw members which converge during actuation of thetool, wherein novel wedge means is employed to insure completion of theconverging movement of the jaws before the jaws may be released so as todiverge outwardly back to their initial, unactuated positions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved jawtool of the character described wherein the jaws are mounted in one endof an elongated housing and are actuated by sliding movement of anactuator bar mounted in the housing, and wedge means for requiringcompletion of the actuating stroke of the shaft in the housing, thewedge means including a wedge member slidable between the housing andthe bar, shoulder means on the shaft being engageable with the wedgemember to move the wedge out of wedging position upon completion of thestroke, and latch means in the housing for holding the wedge out ofwedging position until the bar has returned to its initial position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a crimping tool ofthe character described in which the crimping jaws in the forwardportion of the housing are caused to converge in a crimping stroke byforward axial movement of the jaws within the housing, the jaws beingcammed radially inwardly against an inclined cam surface within thehousing, the jaws being caused to diverge upon reverse axial movement ofthe jaws in the housing by means of the outward expanding force of anelastomer collet member disposed between the jaws.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear during thecourse of the following specification wherein the details ofconstruction and mode of operation of a presently preferred embodimentof the invention are described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal central section, with portions in elevation,through a crimping tool according to the present invention, showing theparts of the tool in the fully opened position;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal central section, with portions in elevation,illustrating the crimping tool of FIG. 1 with the parts thereof disposedin a partially closed position of the tool;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section, with portions in elevation, similar toFIGS. 1 and 2, but with the parts of the tool disposed in the fullyclosed position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 6illustrating the disposition of the jaws in the tool;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal central section of the crimping toolshowing the parts thereof disposed in the open position, with a contactterminal and the end of a conductor wire inserted and ready forcrimping; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal central section similar to FIG. 5,but with the parts of the tool disposed in the closed position at thecompletion of the crimping .n

stroke.

ice

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate three successivephases in the operation of the crimping tool. Thus, in FIG. 1, the jawsare in their fully open positions, with the actuator shaft at itsrearwardmost position in the housing. In FIG. 2, the jaws are partiallyclosed, with the actuator bar moved forwardly from its rearwardmostposition, and with the wedge means engageable between the housing andthe shaft to prevent rearward motion of the bar, thus to insurecompletion of the crimping stroke. In FIG. 3, the jaws are fully closed,with the actuator shaft in its forwardmost position, and with the wedgelatched in its inoperative position so as to permit return of theactuator bar rearwardly in the housing and to permit expansion of thejaws.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the manner in which a contact terminal iscrimped about a conductor wire, the jaws Vbeing in the fully openedposition in FIG. 5 corresponding to the position of the jaws in FIG. 1,and the jaws being fully closed in FIG. 6 at the completion of thecrimping stroke corresponding to the position of the jaws in FIG. 3.

The crimping tool 10 shown in the drawings includes an elongated housing12 which, for convenience in production and assembly, may comprise twoelongated housing sections that are fastened together. The housing 12Vhas forward and rear end portions 14 and 16, respectively, the rear endportion 16 being recessed atr18 to receive one end of a handle or lever2@ which is pivotally connected to housing 12 by means of pin 22.

The housing 12 is provided with a longitudinal bore 24 which extendsfrom the forward portion of the housing to the recess 18 at the rear ofthe housing. An annular axial recess 26 is provided in the forwardportion of housing 12 for connecting a forward housing portion 23 forenclosing the jaws of the tool, the forward housing portion 2Scomprising a rigid collet member. The forward housing portion 28 has aradially outwardly extending flange 30 at its rear or base end which isreceived in an annular groove 31 in recess 26 so as to lock the forwardor jaw housing portion 28 in place.

The forward housing portion 28 includes a cylindrical portion 32 and aninwardly tapered forward portion 34 having an inclined annular insidesurface 36 which functions as a cam surface for camming the jaw membersradially inwardly in the manner hereinafter described inkdetail. Anaxial opening 38 is provided in the front end of the forward housingportion 28. Y

An actuator bar 40 is slidably mounted in the bore 24 of housing 12, bar40 having a front end face 42 and having a notch 44 at its rear end. Asmall arm 46 is pivotally mounted on the handle Ztl adjacent to pin 22,with the free end of arm 46 being engaged in the notch 44, so that whenthe handle 21B is pivoted toward the housing 12, the arm 46 will movethe actuator shaftr4tl forwardly in the body 12. It is to be noted thatthe arm 46 functions as a toggle link, providing increased mechanicaladvantage as the bar 4i) moves forwardly toward the completion of thecrimping stroke.

The bore 24 includes an enlarged portion forming a recess 48 in housing12 for receiving a coil compression spring 50. Spring 50 is disposedabout the bar 40 and engages a pin 52 extending transversely through bar40 so as to bias the bar 46 rearwardly in the housing 12. A spacerwasher 54 may be provided in the front end of recess 48 as a seat forspring 50 to control the amount of compression of spring 50 and hencethe biasing force of the spring against bar 40. f

The front end of actuator bar 40 is provided with a slot 56 which isenlarged rearwardly of the front end face 42 to provide rearwardlyfacing shoulders 58. A tubular guiding member 60 is connected to theVfront end portion of actuator bar 40 and extends forwardly therefromaxially through the tubular forward housing portion 28. The guide member66 is provided with a head portion 62 at its rear end which seatsagainst the shoulders 58 of actuator bar 46, the tubular guide member 6@having a shank portion 64 which extends forwardly from head portion 62through slot 56 in bar 40 and into the forward housing portion 28, guidemember 60 also having an enlarged forward body portion 66. This enlargedforward body portion 66 includes a cylindrical outer wall portion 68 atthe front end of guide 60 which is slidable Within the axial opening 38at the front end of the housing, and also includes an outwardly taperingpart 70 to the rear of the cylindrical part 68 which serves as a guidefor the jaw members.

The guide member 66 has an axial bore 72 therethrough, with acounterbore 74 in the forward portion thereof, a contact terminal beingreceivable in bore 72 and counterbore 74 as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6so as to be positioned for the crimping operation. A countersink 76 atthe front end of counterbore 74 provides an entrance ramp or guide forinsertion of the contact terminal 112.

A plurality of jaw-receiving slots 78 are radially disposed through theenlarged forward body portion 66 of guide member 60, communicating withbore 72 and counterbore 74. Any number of the radial slots 78 may beregularly spaced about the guide member 6i), according to the number ofjaws employed, three of the slots 78 being shown in the drawings.

A plurality of elongated jaw members 80 are disposed within the jawhousing 28, with the forward portion of each jaw member being slidablyengaged in a respective radial slot 78. Each jaw member 80 includes jawteeth 82 at `the front end of the jaw and adapted to project radiallyinwardly into the counterbore 74 in the closed position of the jaws toapply the crimp to the contact terminal. Each jaw member 8i) is providedat its rear end with an enlarged foot portion 84 having a flat rearsurface 86, a radially outwardly projecting heel portion 88, and aradially inwardly projecting toe portion l96 having a forwardly facingshoulder 92. The forward portion of each jaw member 80 has an inclinedouter edge 94 which is engageable against the inclined annular insidesurface 36 in the forward housing portion 28 for camming the jawradially inwardly upon forward movement of the jaw in the housing.

An actuator ring 96 is disposed in the forward housing portion 28 to therear of jaws 80, ring 96 having a flat forwardly facing face 98 whichabuts against the flat rear surfaces 86 of the jaws 80. A snap ring 100in the forward housing portion 28 limits the rearward travel of actuatorring 96. The actuator ring 96 includes a short rearwardly projectingboss 102 which engages against the front end face 42 of actuator bar40,4so that forward movement of bar 48 in housing 12 will cause actuatorring 96 and jaws 80 to slide forwardly in the housing, whereby the jaws80 will be cammed radially inwardly against the inclined inside surface36 of the housing. An annular positioning rib 104 may be provided on theshank portion 64 of actuator member 60 within the axial passage 106through actuator ring 96 for centering the parts.

The guide member 60 is provided with an external annular flange 108which extends radially outwardly in front of the forwardly facingshoulders 92 on jaw members 80, the ange 108 causing the jaws 80 to moverearwardly in the housing upon rearward sliding movement of actuator bar40 and tubular guide member 60.

An elastomer collet 110 is circumferentially disposed about the shankportion 64 of guide member 60 between enlarged forward body portion 66and flange 108. The elastomer collet 110 serves to bias the jaws 80radially outwardly in the housing, collet 118 being compressed radiallyinwardly when actuator shaft 40 and actuator member 60 are movedforwardly so as to cam the jaws 80 inwardly, and the collet 118 shiftingthe jaws 80 radially outwardly when the jaws are shifted rearwardly byrearward movement of bar 46 and guide member 60.

It is to be noted that the spacing between the head 62 and flange 168 ofactuator guide 60 is such as to permit the elastomer collet member topivotally shift the jaws 86 at the completion of the law openingmovement. At the commencement of the crimping stroke, the jaws willfirst pivot until their inclined outer edges 94 seat Hush against theannular inclined surface 36 in the housing, and thereafter the jaws 8i)and the actuator member 60' will move axially as a unit, with the jawsshifting radially inwardly until the crimping strike is completed.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, the contact terminal 112which is to be crimped is inserted into the bore 72 and counterbore 74of guide member 60, with the forward contact portion 114 of terminal 112extending into the bore 72, and the enlarged crimping cup portion 116 ofterminal 112 being disposed in counterbore 74. Conductor wire 118 isinserted into the cup portion 116 of the terminal, the insulationcovering 126 of wire 11S being stripped back from the bare end of thewire to provide metal-to-metal contact between the wire and the terminalcup portion 116.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, thenovel wedge means for insuring completion of the crimping stroke willnow be described. The wedge means is enclosed in a housing recess 122adjoining the bore 24 between recesses 18 and 48. One wall of housing 12in recess 122 comprises a surface 124 which is angularly inclinedrelative to the axis of actuator bar 40 so as to extend rearwardly andradially inwardly. A wedge block 126 is disposed in recess 122 betweenthe inclined surface 124 and the bar 40, the block 126 having a ball 128seated in a hole therethrough and eX- tending outwardly from block 126so as to be engageable against the inclined surface 124 and the bar 40.A compression spring 130 is engaged at its respective ends against thehousing 12 and the wedge block 126 so as to bias the block 126rearwardly into its wedged position. It will be apparent that the shaft40 is free to slide forwardly in housing 12, but will be locked againstrearward movement by the wedge.

j The mechanism for insuring completion of the crimping stroke includeslatch means for latching the wedge in a non-wedging, inoperativeposition at the completion of the crimping stroke so as to permit returnof bar 40, guide member 60 and jaws 80 to their original positions forcommencing another stroke, with means for releasing the latch when theparts have fully returned to their original positions. This latch meansincludes a latch member 132 which is pivoted to housing 12 within recess122 on a suitable pivot pin 134, said latch member extending forwardlyof the pin 134. The latch member 132 is biased toward bar 40 and wedgeblock 126 by a coil compression spr-ing 136 engageable at one endagainst housing 12 and at its other end against latch member 132. Aforwardly facing shoulder 138 is provided on latch member 132, and latchmember 132 has an inwardly facing lip 140 adjoining the shoulder 138. Aninclined cam follower surface 142 extends rearwardly and inwardly onlatch member 132 from the lip 140.

The latch means is completed by a pin or lug member 144 which extendsoutwardly from the bar 40, and which is provided with an inclined camface 146 which is engageable against the opposed cam follower surface142 on the latch member 132.

The operation of the latch means is as follows: At the beginning of thecrimping stroke, with the parts disposed in the positions illustrated inFIG. l of the drawings, the wedge comprising the wedge block 126 and theball 128, is in its rearwardmost position, being in wedging engagementbetween the shaft 40 and the inclined housing surface 124 so as topermit forward sliding of bar 40, but to lock the bar 40 againstrearward sliding movement. At this time, the pin or lug 144 on bar 40holds latch member 1.32 in an outermost position against the force ofspring 136, permitting block 126 to move rearwardly under the lip 140 oflatch member 132.

When actuation of the tool iirst commences, with body 12 being graspedin the hand and lever 211 being pivoted toward body 12 by closing thefingers about lever 29, the pin or lug 144 shifts forwardly with bar 4dout of engagement with the latch member 132, thus permitting the latchspring 136 to pivot the latch 132 inwardly until the lip 140 engagesagainst the outer surface of block 126, in the manner shown in FIG. 2.In this position of the parts, the wedge is operative, being freelyslidable under the lip 140 of latch member 132 to accomplish the wedgingaction.

At the completion of the crimping stroke, as illustrated in FIG. 3, thepin or lug 144 on bar 40 has moved forwardly sufficiently to engage thewedge block 126, moving the block 12d forwardly until the latch member132 snaps inwardly behind block 126, with the forward shoulder 138 onlatch 132 engaging against the rear end of block 126 so as to hold thewedge forwardly in an inoperative position. Thus, with the wedge heldinoperative by latch member 132, when the handle 211 is released, theshaft 49 will be moved rearwardly by spring 50, jaws 8f) being shiftedradially outwardly by the elastomer collet member 114B. The wedge willremain latched out of operative position until the bar 4t) has returnedrearwardly in housing 12 sufficiently for the cam face 146 on pin or lug144 to engage the cam follower surface 142 on latch member 132 so as toshift the latch member 132 radially outwardly from behind the wedgeblock 126, thus preparing the tool for another crimping stroke.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A full stroke compelling mechanism which comprises: a housing; anactuator member movably mounted in the housing so as to move between anunactuated position and an actuated position; and means requiringcompletion of movement of the actuator member to said actuated positionbefore the actuator member can be returned toward said unactuatedposition; said means including a wedge member normally engageablebetween the housing and the actuator member to prevent movement of theactuator member toward the unactuated position but permitting theactuator member to move toward said actuated position; shoulder means onthe actuator member engageable with the wedge member when the actuatormember reaches said actuated position so as to shift the wedge member toan inoperative position permitting return movement of the actuatormember toward said unactuated position; means operative to hold saidwedge means in said inoperative position to permit said actuator memberto return to said unactuated position; and wherein said last mentionedmeans includes latch means automatically engageable between the housingand the wedge member when the wedge member is shifted to saidinoperative position by said shoulder means, so as to hold the wedgemember in said inoperative position during return movement of theactuator member from said actuated position to said unactuated position.

2. A mechanism as defined in claim 2 which includes cam means on theactuator member for disengaging said latch means upon completion of thereturn movement of the actuator member to its said unactuated positionfrom its said actuated position.

3. A full stroke compelling mechanism which comprises: a housing; anactuator bar slidably mounted in the housing so as to move between anunactuated position and an actuated position; and means requiringcompletion of movement of the bar to said actuated position before thebar can be returned toward said unactuated position; said meansincluding a surface in the housing spaced from the bar and inclined atan angle relative to the bar, a wedge member disposed between saidsurface in the housing and the bar so as to normally lock the baragainst movement toward said unactuated position but permitting the barto move toward said actuated position; shoulder means on the barengageable with the wedge member when the bar reaches said actuatedposition so as to shift the wedge member to an inoperative positionpermitting return movement of the bar toward said unactuated position;means operative to hold said wedge member in said inoperative positionto permit said bar to return to said unactuated position wherein saidlast mentioned means includes latch means automatically engageablebetween the housing and the wedge member when the wedge member isshifted to said inoperative position by said shoulder means, so as tohold the wedge member in said inoperative position during returnmovement of the bar from said actuated position to said unactuatedposition.

4. A mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein said latch means comprisesa latch member pivotally mounted in the housing.

5. A mechanism as defined in claim 3 which includes cam means on the baroperatively engageable with said pivoted latch member upon completion ofthe return movement of the bar to its said unactuated position from itssaid actuated position.

6. A mechanism as defined in claim 3 which includes spring meansengageable between the housing and the bar so as to bias the bar towardits said unactuated position in the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS786,386 Seelye Apr. 4, 1995 1,414,728 Enders May 2, 1922 1,698,392Hannah Nov. 23, 1926 1,911,821 Gangler May 30, 1933 1,984,234 SchmidDec. 11, 1934 2,369,180 Rosenthal Feb. 13, 1945 2,587,931 Van Der WiltMar. 4, 1952 2,985,047 Van Oort May 23, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 608,213Germany Ian. 3l, 1935

1. A FULL STROKE COMPELLING MECHANISM WHICH COMPRISES: A HOUSING; ANACTUATOR MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED IN THE HOUSING SO AS TO MOVE BETWEEN ANUNACTUATED POSITION AND AN ACTUATED POSITION; AND MEANS REQUIRINGCOMPLETION OF MOVEMENT OF THE ACTUATOR MEMBER TO SAID ACTUATED POSITIONBEFORE THE ACTUATOR MEMBER CAN BE RETURNED TOWARD SAID UNACTUATEDPOSITION; SAID MEANS INCLUDING A WEDGE MEMBER NORMALLY ENGAGEABLEBETWEEN THE HOUSING AND THE ACTUATOR MEMBER TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF THEACTUATOR MEMBER TOWARD THE UNACTUATED POSITION BUT PERMITTING THEACTUATOR MEMBER TO MOVE TOWARD SAID ACTUATED POSITION; SHOULDER MEANS ONTHE ACTUATOR MEMBER ENGAGEABLE WITH THE WEDGE MEMBER WHEN THE ACTUATORMEMBER REACHES SAID ACTUATED POSITION SO AS TO SHIFT THE WEDGE MEMBER TOAN INOPERATIVE POSITION PERMITTING RETURN MOVEMENT OF THE ACTUATORMEMBER TOWARD SAID UNACTUATED POSITION; MEANS OPERATIVE